Sun parties: about Celtic New Year and equinoxes

The Celtic year included eight celebrations: four agricultural festivals and four sun parties. The agricultural festivals (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh) were mobile celebrations because they were celebrated at the time nature showed up. The Sun Festivals (Yule, Ostara, Coamhain and Autumn) are ruled by the rhythm of the sun. They are astronomical events that are celebrated on a fixed date because they are calculated in advance. They fall in the middle of the agricultural festivals and mark sunlight turning points. Because the day before the Celts began after sunset, each party began on the eve with the dawn of darkness; the dawn begins just like all new things in the dark.

When we place these parties on a year wheel, we see that each party always has a counterpart. For example, every party always falls in the same period after six lunar cycles from its counterpart. In addition, an agricultural party also always falls 40 days after the previous sun party. So there is a highly symmetrical, naturally cosmic solar cycle, which brings the sun, the Earth, and the stars together at certain times of the year.

The Celtic year begins on the eve of November with Samhain, Sawwen pronounced. However, we know it better these days under the new US version, called Halloween. For the Celts, the days always started with the entry of darkness, and so did he begin their new era at nightfall. Around this time, the days are already visibly shorter and the moon is rising faster. It was also believed that the energy of the Other World can then be felt well and that it was so easy to cross, both from here to there and vice versa.

The counterpart to this mysterious evening is Beltaine. Even then, the veil is thin and it is believed that they can feel or even enter the Other World. Beltane is celebrated on the eve of May, also known as Walpugis Night. The May party was the feast of fertility and desire. For this reason, large bonfires were often lit on this night to worship the gods Freya and her brother Feyr.

Yule and Coamhain, or midwinter and midsummer, represent the shortest and longest day of the year and were celebrated around December 21 and June 21, respectively. Like Ostara and Herfest, they are about to enter a new season. Ostara and Herfest have in common that light and darkness are proportional on these days. For this reason, they are also often referred to as the spring and autumn equinox. They are celebrated on March 21 and September 21.